Fallen but Rising
by daughterofBarricade
Summary: *Title changed again* The dinosaurs have made it to the nesting grounds and Kron is no longer alive and everyone has moved l except one female that holds a few secrets concerning her and Kron. But is he really as dead as everyone thinks he is ? Pairings:Aladar/Neera,Bruton/oc,Kron/oc, oc/oc
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright, I know I probably shouldn't have started another fic when I have like six others to worry about but it just so happens that my interest in Disney's Dinosaur has re-surfaced and I read on a Forum around here that someone made a challenge to do a Kron/oc love story. I figured I'd take up the challenge and contribute to the extremely small Dinosaur section.**

**I know that Kron is pretty much hated in the small fandom (heck, even I hated him at one point) but after really looking at things from his perspective, I realized that he's not really the bad guy. He was just doing his job which was to get the herd to the breeding grounds. Sure he would rush the herd but that's because he wanted to keep them far ahead of the Carnotaurs. I could go on arguing why Kron isn't the real bad guy, but that would take forever an I'm sure you guys would rather read this fic.**

**Anywho, a quick note: I really liked Bruton and was extremely disappointed that he died in the movie. As a result, I'm gonna have him alive as in he survived the rock avalanche in the cave. I'm sure all the Bruton fans will be happy.:)**

**Quick Notes: Aladar and Neera are mates/ husband and wife and are expecting their six eggs to hatch.**

**Bold= Author's notes/disclaimer**

_Italics= Flashback/dream_

"Talking out loud"

'Characters thoughts'

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the familiar characters from 'Disney's Dinosaur', they belong to the Disney studios and I make NO money off of this. The only things I own are my oc's Mackenzie and Tabitha.**

_Neera panted slightly as she ran up the rocks after the Carnotaur. She could hear Aladar close behind her; they were almost there…just a few more feet. Her eyes widened when she saw the gigantic monster pick up her brother and toss him into a rock. Neera winced as Kron landed on his side and lifted his head weakly to stare up at the approaching Carnotaur in horror. _

_The carnivore was about to take a finishing bite when Neera rammed herself against its side and tried to push the larger dinosaur off the nearby ledge. She wasn't about to lose her brother to this monster and she pushed harder. _

_Unfortunately, the large red horned demon got over its surprise and pushed the female iguanodon away from it. Neera gave a small cry of pain as she hit a nearby rock in a similar fashion as her brother and shook her head in a daze. A heavy pressure on her side caused her to look up and gasp when she saw the large mouth with razor sharp teeth coming forward._

_Just as the jaws were about to close around her, a blue tail swung out and struck the predator across the face. Neera glanced up and saw Aladar stand over her protectively before rushing at the Carnotaur and attempting to push it over the edge once more. The light pink dinosaur watched from her spot as the two dinosaurs fought. _

_In just seconds, Aladar was able to finally push the titan over the edge, however, the monster wasn't about to go down alone and bit down on Aladars' back in an attempt to pull him over as well. Fortunately, the Carnotaurs' grip slipped and the giant fell alone, leaving Aladar to pull himself over the edge. _

_Ignoring the slight pain in her side, Neera stood up and walked next to Aladar and stared down the high drop where the now dead Carnotaur lay. She stared at the beast for a few seconds before turning her head in the direction that her older brother was laying. _

_She approached him slowly and looked him over. The lavender colored male was still lying on his side, yet his blue-grey eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. 'Oh, no…' Neera thought while leaning her head to inspect Kron closer. She carefully and gently nudged his snout with her own, 'Come on Kron…please wake up.' She thought before letting his head back down gently. When he still didn't respond, Neera assumed the worst and pulled her head back. 'He's gone…' She thought as tears formed in her eyes._

_The female took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and felt Aladar give her a comforting nuzzle. She pushed her head under his chin and remained there for a few moments. After a while, Aladar cleared his throat,_

"_We should get going." He said softly. Neera swallowed and looked at her dead brother. The blue-green iguanodon looked between the siblings, "Do you want me to give you a few moments to say good-bye?" He offered while Neera nodded, the tears threatened to fall and she licked her lips._

_Aladar nodded as well, "I'll wait for you at the bottom." He turned and carefully started down the steep rock pile. Neera watched him climb down for a second or two before turning and looking at her brother once more. She strolled over to him and lowered herself down onto her belly, she then inched herself forward and moved her body so that it was under her brothers left arm and made it look like he was hugging her. _

_She pressed her head against his chest and allowed the tears to finally roll down her cheeks with a sob. "Kron, I'm so sorry! I tried!" She whimpered. Neera shut her eyes and thought back to the old days when she and Kron were much younger. She had many brothers and sisters from her parents first and second litter, but she had always favored Kron. In return Kron was always extremely protective of his younger sister. _

"_I'm going to miss you Kron." Neera sniffled while placing a final kiss on her sibling's cheek. With that she carefully pulled herself away from her brother and stood up. She gave one last glance at the lifeless body before turning and slowly climbing down the rocks. _

_After meeting up with Aladar, they walked to the cave that would lead to the Nesting Grounds. Upon entering their new home, Neera spotted her friend Mackenzie tending to Bruton's injuries. The grey and black female gave a smile as the two iguanodon's approached her and the wounded male. _

"_There you two are." She greeted while helping Bruton up. Said male looked around, "Where's Kron?" He grunted. _

_Aladar and Neera were silent before the young male decided to answer, "Um…he was killed by the Carnotaur." He explained. He was about to go into a bit more detail about the fight and what led up to it when a loud thump caused the four iguanodons to flinch. They all turned their heads to the source of the sound and saw that a light orange and white colored female iguanodon had fallen in a dead faint._

"Neera…"

The pink female groaned softly as the voice that was slowly pulling her out of her sleep. "Neera!"

The urgency of the voice caused her to jerk out of her sleep and Neera found herself face to face with Noah and Adrian, her two adopted sons. At the moment, the two boys were grinning down at her and perched onto of one of them was young Suri.

"Did you all need something?" Neera questioned after checking over her soon to be hatched eggs. She smiled while adjusting one gently.

"They're not the ones that need anything; I'm the one looking for someone to chat with." A familiar voice sounded behind her and Neera turned to see Mackenzie walking over to her with a slight smirk. Neera smirked back, "Using children as a wakeup call?" She taunted her friend playfully.

Mackenzie did a shrugging motion, "Consider yourself lucky, you got woken up by cute children. _I_ got woken up by Bruton's snoring. The female rolled her emerald green eyes at the thought of her husband. Neera tilted her head, "So you left your eggs alone to suffer their daddy's loud snoring?" She questioned skeptically.

The grey iguanodon chuckled, "Oh I'm sure those egg shells muffle the sound a bit, and it's _after_ they hatch that I'm worried about. Bruton's gonna scare them half to death on their first night."

Neera joined in on the laughter before clearing her throat, "So how _are_ your eggs doing?" she asked while shifting her position and watching her two adopted sons and Suri run off to play. Mackenzie smiled, "They're doing fine, still awhile till they hatch but so far so good." She replied while lying next to the pink iguanodon and adding, "How about yours? They're due to hatch any day now right?"

"_Any_ day." Neera repeated with a sigh. Her yellow eyes dropped down to the ground as she thought about how her sons and daughters would be due soon and they would never get a chance to meet their uncle. Having noticed her friends' silence, Mackenzie gave Neera a gentle nudge,

"I'm sure Kron would be proud to see his little sister become a mama." She soothed. Neera nodded as her eyes tear up.

"I just wish he was here to see his nieces and nephews." Neera said as she blinked the tears away. It had been months since her brother's death yet Neera couldn't help but get teary eyed every time she thought about him.

After a few more comforting words, Mackenzie glanced around and saw that many more of the valley's residents were up and about. "Well, I better get going, Bruton's probably up by now and is ready for breakfast. I gotta get back to my nest. I'll talk to ya later Neera." Mackenzie announced while standing up. Neera nodded, "Bye Mackenzie, I'll meet up with you later today."

The grey, black spotted female nodded and walked back to her nest and mate.

It really didn't take long for her to get back and when she arrived, she was surprised to see Bruton still asleep. Despite all the noise he made at night, Mackenzie still loved Bruton dearly and was relieved to see him alive after she arrived in the valley. Apparently he had a near death experience in the cave after he was left for dead.

Mackenzie shivered, being forced to leave Bruton behind had been the hardest thing she had ever done. It was a pure miracle that he had lived through the Carnotaur attack and a rock avalanche and still managed to heal properly. The young mother smirked, 'Bet he didn't think he would get a chance to become a daddy.' She thought while gently nudging his cheek.

The larger male gave a snort and opened his green-hazel eyes. "Morning." Mackenzie greeted cheerfully as her husband stretched his arms and legs. "Morning." He mumbled back before standing and shaking his large body. After letting out a final yawn, the brown male looked down at his wife.

"When did _you_ wake up?" He asked while Mackenzie raised a brow, "Oh about an hour ago. Your snoring serves as a good alarm." She gave her mate a quick kiss on his cheek before giving him a gentle nudge,

"You better get going; I'm guessing you're ready for breakfast." She urged while Bruton looked back, "What about you? Aren't you going to eat?" He questioned as he allowed himself to be pushed away.

Mackenzie shook her head, "I already ate so you're on your own for now, but I'll join you for lunch. I'll stay and keep an eye on the eggs." She assured.

Bruton looked over at the nest that held ten eggs and puffed his chest proudly and Mackenzie giggled. The former second in command to Kron, did this almost every time he saw the white shells that held his little babies. It always amazed Mackenzie how this big, strong, tough dinosaur was now a loving husband and an expecting father. 'I'll bet no one saw this coming.' She mused to herself as her husband lumbered away.

The soon to be mother smiled in the direction her mate walked off in and slowly laid herself near her eggs. It wasn't long till she heard the sound of footsteps approaching from her left and she looked in the direction. "Hello again Neera." Mackenzie greeted as the pink female planted herself nearby. Neera smiled, "Aladar insisted that I take a break from watching the eggs and 'enjoy' myself." She explained.

"So he's baby-sitting for a while?"

A nod from Neera confirmed it and the two females struck up a casual conversation talking about different subjects.

After about half an hour, the two future mothers spotted a familiar orange and white iguanodon pass by from the direction of the lake. "Hey Tabitha, how's it going?" Mackenzie called out to the passing female.

Tabitha looked over to the one that called her name and gave a small smile that barley reached her sapphire blue eyes. "Hey Mackenzie, everything's fine." She replied before continuing on her way while calling over her shoulder, "Bye Mackenzie, bye Neera!"

Neera blinked, although she had seen the female before, she had never known her on a personal or name basis. She looked at her friend, "Who was that?" She asked innocently. Mackenzie gave Neera a confused look, "That's Tabitha remember? She was the one that fainted after you and Aladar told me and Bruton that Kron…passed away."

"Oh yeah, she had a dizzy moment." Neera replied while thinking back to that moment and remembering the explanation the orange female had given. After a second of thinking she added, "She had some eggs of her own didn't she?"

Mackenzie nodded sadly, "Yeah but unfortunately, she was pregnant during the migration and I guess the harsh conditions must have taken a toll on her cause…none of her eggs made it."

Neera sighed, she remembered hearing the news that Tabitha's eggs never hatched and she ended up losing her five babies that she never got to see. Mackenzie had told her that Tabitha had grieved for a few days stating that not only had she lost her boyfriend but she also lost her children. Apparently the eggs were the only thing she had left of her future mate.

It was quite a sad story but there was one thing that Neera always wondered, "Who was the father? Was he one of the males that passed away during the migration?" She questioned out loud. Mackenzie threw her another confused look, "You don't know who the father is?"

Neera shook heard head and Mackenzie sighed. 'That's right, Tabitha hasn't spoken to Neera yet. So Neera doesn't know.' She thought before licking her lips and looked into her friends golden eyes that were staring back at her intently.

Taking a breath, she replied slowly, "Neera…the father of Tabitha's eggs…" She paused for a second before finishing, "is…Kron."

**A/N: **

**So here are the two oc's in the fic.**

**Mackenzie: Bruton's wife/mate (she and Bruton are waiting for their ten eggs to hatch)**

**Tabitha: Kron's secret girlfriend/would have been mate (she was waiting for her five eggs to hatch)**

**The beginning was a dream/flashback that Neera was having. The rest take place a few months after the events of the movie. Poor Tabitha, she lost her first litter of eggs **_**and**_** Kron…or did she? **

**I know there might be some unanswered questions such as **_**how**_** Bruton survived the rock avalanche, how Bruton and even Kron met Mackenzie and Tabitha, and of course how Neera didn't know about Kron's secret girlfriend. These questions and any others will be answered throughout the next chapters. :)**

**P.S: Noah and Adrian are the two orphan iguanodon's that Neera adopted in the movie, we weren't told their actual names so I just made them up.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: Oh man, I'm really, really, really, really, really, reeeaaaalllllly sorry for the insanely long wait for this update. I've had lots of things to take care of, so…yeah. Any who, I hope you like this chapter, it's kind of a 'welcome back to school' present. **

**Now for the story, I decided that I'm not going to really go into full detail on how Kron and Bruton met their mates. I'll drop in hints and small details here and there, but I'm not going to dedicate a chapter like I was originally planning on doing. Instead, I'll just make a separate short prequel like story later on. I just feel that giving a full explanation in this story will sort of make the story drift away from my main plot. **

**Now on with the new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Disney Dinosaur movie. If I did, Kron and Bruton would still be alive. **

Neera stared at her friend in shock. Mackenzie's last sentence had caught the young female completely off guard, and the pink iguanodon just couldn't bring herself to believe it.

'The father of Tabitha's eggs…was _Kron_?' Neera thought as she looked down in thought, her brow furrowed in confusion. As far as she knew, Kron didn't have a mate, and whenever she brought up the question of when he was going to find a female to settle down with, she was told that he wasn't interested in any of that, much to her relief.

"Are you sure that Kron is the father?" Neera questioned as she looked back up at Mackenzie. The grey iguanodon nodded, "That's what she told me, and I believe her. You know, I hung out mostly with Tabitha during the migration, and she didn't strike me as a promiscuous type, so if she says that Kron is the daddy, then I guess we'll have to take her word for it."

Neera frowned, "But did she ever mention having a relationship with my brother?"

Mackenzie slowly shook her head in thought, "No…not that I remember, but I do remember seeing the two of them exchange a few words a few times before the herd would go to sleep." Neera blinked in surprise. "Did you by any chance hear what they were saying?" She asked.

"No, they were too far away. All I know is that Kron would casually walk up to Tabitha and whisper something to her and she would whisper something back and the two would smile at each other and then Kron would walk away. I didn't think too much of it as I was _way_ too tired to question what she was doing." Mackenzie smirked, "I'm guessing they were planning on seeing each other later on during the night when no one would see them."

Neera shuddered slightly at the thought of what her brother and Tabitha did during the nights while they were alone. Luckily, Mackenzie broke her train of thought and continued, "Whatever they had going on, they wanted to keep it really 'hush hush'." She mused while shifting her eggs. Neera watched her friend with a hurt look.

"But why didn't he tell _me_ what was going on? I'm his sister, why would he keep a secret like that from me?" This whole thing was a mystery for the pink dinosaur. As far as she knew, Kron was perfectly content with being single and living with his sister, and as far as children went, well…it was no secret that he hated kids. So the fact that he found a mate and was expecting children with her was pretty mind blowing.

"Maybe he didn't want anyone to know because he didn't want the rest of us to think he was going soft or something. Now I don't think he was planning on keeping his relationship a secret forever, as we were bound to find out about it sometime, but for the time being, since it was such a difficult migration, he had to keep his stern, tough demeanor." Mackenzie smiled at the thought, "Even when Bruton and I finally started to have feelings for each other, we also tried to keep things on the down low."

Neera huffed, "Yes but even _I_ knew that you two were starting something. _Kron_ didn't say _anything_." The younger female glared at the ground, her yellow eyes flashing in anger. How could her brother do this to her? Wasn't she his favorite sister, as he had claimed many times? Wasn't she the one he promised to take care and protect? Wasn't _she_ the one that was supposed to have all of his attention?

As Neera pondered all of these thoughts, Mackenzie took one glance at her friends face and smirked once more, "Aw Neera...don't tell me you're _jealous _of Tabitha." She teased. Neera's gaze flashed back to the spotted dinosaur,

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know exactly what I mean." Mackenzie retorted casually. "You're upset that Kron had another woman in his life besides _you_." She gave Neera a knowing look. The younger female's mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to think of something to say. "That's not true!" She snapped as she finally got her vocal cords to work.

Mackenzie rolled her eyes, "Come _on_ Neera, I know what you're going through. I used to have an older brother myself, and I felt the _exact _same way you did when I found out he found a mate. You're upset that he had someone else to love and care about, and had he still been alive, he wouldn't be around you as often as you like." The older female gave Neera a look that said 'am I right?'.

Neera opened her mouth to send another retort, but stopped when she realized that Mackenzie was right. As much as she didn't want to fully admit it, Neera _was_ jealous of Tabitha. And as Mackenzie said, had Kron still been alive, he would have probably been fully mated to Tabitha and there wouldn't be much room for Neera anymore. Even if she had Aladar, just the thought of her brother drifting away made her stomach turn.

"Alright, I'll admit, I'm a little jealous." She mumbled while Mackenzie gave a cocky grin while Neera continued, "But back to Kron. Did he know that Tabitha was pregnant?"

"According to Tabitha, he did."

Neera's eyes widened. Kron _knew_ that his mate…girlfriend, was pregnant, yet he still forced them to walk through the desert with little rest?! How could he do that to her?! Mackenzie eyed Neera, "Before you go making judgments against your brother, just know that one of the reasons why he rushed us was so that Tabitha could get to the nesting grounds in time to lay her eggs. He was thinking of her."

"So everything was because of her?" Neera questioned.

Mackenzie nodded, "I guess so, and thus the reason for keeping their relationship a secret." She guessed. Neera didn't reply. She couldn't. This was just so much to take in.

The brother she thought she was extremely close to, had been harboring secrets that he obviously didn't feel comfortable sharing with her. Then again, she really shouldn't have been surprised. Kron never was one to share secrets with others. 'But at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he told Tabitha all his secrets since I'm obviously not good enough to know certain things about him.' Neera thought grudgingly.

Mackenzie got up from her spot and laid herself next to Neera, "Hey, don't take it to personal. Despite all the secrets, you're still Kron's little sister and he still loved you, and I'm sure you would have been the first to know once he was ready to reveal his big secret."

The pink female sighed, "Yeah he _would_ have if he was still alive." She chocked on the last word and held back a sob as she reminded herself of his death once more. Mackenzie was about to say something when she noticed Bruton returning from his breakfast meal. "Well, looks like my man is back. If you want, we can continue this conversation later. For now, why don't you go talk to Tabitha? Maybe _she_ can shed some light on her relationship with your brother." She offered as they stood up.

"I guess it would be a good idea to talk to her. I'll see you later Mackenzie." Neera replied while walking away from her friends nest.

"Let me know how it goes!" Mackenzie called out as Neera left.

"I will!" Neera called back. 'Hopefully everything goes well.' She thought while making her way to where Tabitha stayed.

**A/N: Alrighty, there's chapter 2. Hopefully, I'll be able to update this fic more often and you won't have to wait another year for my update. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I know I said in the last chapter that I wasn't going to do a flashback scene but…well I changed my mind. Some time after posting chapter 2, I thought of a good back story of how Kron and Tabitha met, and I thought 'what the styx, I'll go for it!' and I did! Anywhodles, here is a nice long chapter for y'all to (hopefully) enjoy! :-)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dinosaur or any of its characters. They belong to the Disney company and I am by NO means making any money off this. This is purley for the enjoyment of the few Dinosaur fans to read. The only characters I own are Tabitha, Mackenzie, and some more Oc's that will appear later on in the fic.**

_Tabitha smiled as she looked out at her new temporary home. It was a large valley mostly surrounded by large rock walls, and looked like it would provide enough protection from carnivores. As far as food went, there was definitely enough for everyone. The only thing that would make this place perfect for Tabitha was if there were some other young dinosaurs for her to play with. The other young dinosaurs in her own herd were fun and all, but she wanted to find someone new to play with. _

_Wagging her tail slightly, the young iguanodon made to run off and explore when her mother called out to her, "Tabitha, don't wonder to far now! And be careful!"_

"_Don't worry mama, I'm just going to explore for a little while!" The small orange dinosaur called back and running further into the valley. As she ran, she saw various other dinosaurs, including other iguanodons, most of which were guarding their nests of eggs. _

_As she scampered past, the mother dinosaurs watched her wearily and tensed slightly in case they had to shoo her away from their un-hatched children. _

_Knowing that the larger dinosaurs wouldn't relax until she was gone, Tabitha sped off away from the nesting area and made her way to the large lake at the center of the valley. However upon arriving, Tabitha found the lake to be more crowded than the nesting area. Dozens of Iguanodons, Parasaurolophus, and several other species of dinosaurs were either crowded around the edge, getting a drink, or wallowing in the cool water. _

_A small herd of Styracosaurs approached the lake, and Tabitha had to jump out of the way to avoid getting trampled on. Her bright blue eyes glared at the rude dinos as they forced her out of the way so as to satisfy their own thirst. _

_Deciding that it was too risky to squeeze in between the larger, horned creatures, Tabitha walked around the lake, trying to find a safe opening to get a drink. She was so focused looking for a spot, she wasn't watching where she was going and ended up colliding with something, or someone._

_Shaking her sore head, she let out a small groan, and heard a voice growl out, "Hey, watch where you're going!"_

"_Well sorry, and I didn't do it on purpose!" Tabitha grumbled back and looked up to frown at whoever she walked into. Yet when she looked up, she found herself speechless at what she saw. Standing in front of her was another young iguanodon who looked about four, maybe five years older than her. _

_Despite the circumstances, Tabitha couldn't help but look over the young dinosaur. Right off the bat, she knew he was a male what with his body structure and the pitch of his voice. His body was a light lavender color with light blue stripes and a peach colored underside. His face was a pale pink that bore intense grey eyes that were currently glaring down at her. _

"_What are you staring at?" The young male demanded as his face twisted into a scowl. Tabitha blinked as she unconsciously went into shy mode. "N-nothing." She uttered and then looked away. The male tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "I haven't seen you before. Are you new here?" he questioned. _

_Tabitha nodded, "I just got here with my family. My daddy says that the leader of this valley is letting us stay until we find a new home." She replied while relaxing a bit. The male looked over to where Tabitha's herd was currently gathered. An awkward silence feel between the youngsters that made Tabitha feel quite uncomfortable. "So…do you know the leader of the valley?" She questioned in an attempt to break the silence. _

_She flinched slightly when the lavender iguanodon's grey eyes quickly looked back at her. It wasn't the action that worried her, or the fact that his piercing eyes were bearing into her, it was the look behind them that set her on edge. It was a look of fear at the mention of the leader. However, as quick as the look came, it left and the male nodded, "Yeah I know him. He's…my dad." _

_Tabitha, in all her youthful innocence, forgot about the fearful look she had seen in the boys' eyes, and grinned. "Wow, my daddy's a herd leader too! That's so cool, both our dads are leaders!" She exclaimed excitedly. The male rolled his eyes, "Amazing." He droned sarcastically. _

_Noticing his tone, Tabitha tilted her head, "Aren't you happy that you're dads' the leader? That means __you__ get to be the leader someday too!" She replied with a smile. The male didn't smile back, and instead looked away, "I hate my dad." He replied. _

_Tabitha stared up at him in shock. Why would anyone hate their own father? Did something happen between them? Looking back up at the boy, she decided to change the subject. _

"_So…what's your name?" She asked sweetly. The male looked down at her in surprise,_

"…_Kron." He answered. _

_Tabitha grinned, "My names Tabitha!"_

_Kron nodded, "Well, Tabitha, this has been 'fun' and all, but I have to get back to my parents." He stated as he turned to walk away. He stopped short when the small orange female ran in front of him and grinned up at him. _

"_Do you really have to go now? Can't we play for a little while?" She questioned while wagging her tail playfully. Kron scowled at her, "No way! I can't play with __you__!" he exclaimed as if that was the dumbest thing he had ever heard. Tabitha's face dropped and a hurt look crossed her face, _

"_Why not?"_

_Kron let out an exasperated sigh, "Because you're just a little kid. I don't play with kids." He retorted in a superior tone. Tabitha furrowed her brow, "I'm only six!"_

"_I rest my case." Kron retorted. _

_Tabitha frowned, "Well how old are __you__?"_

"_Eleven." He smirked down at her. The younger female wasn't impressed, _

"_Hey, you're still a kid too!" She whined as Kron shook his head, "But I'm a __big__ kid and you're a __little__ kid. __I'm__ almost a teenager, but __you__ are still a baby." He explained while walking around the stunned female and strolling away in an arrogant manner. _

_Tabitha had never felt so insulted in her life, "I'm not a baby!" She argued before running to catch up with Kron, who turned to give her a frustrated look, "Why don't you go play with your own friends? The ones that are __your__ own age?" he demanded. _

"_Because I like making new friends that I can play with. Can't we just play for a little while? Pleeeeeease?" She begged. As she said this, she blinked her blue eyes cutely. Kron gave an exasperated sigh when he realized that Tabitha wouldn't leave him alone, "Look, we can't really 'play' since I'm bigger than you and you could get hurt, but if you want we can hang out for a while okay?" _

_Tabitha nodded. It was better than nothing. "Okay, that sounds fun too!"_

_Kron rolled his eyes again and began walking away with Tabitha beside him. "Do you have any brothers or sisters Kron?" Tabitha asked as they wandered through the valley. Kron was silent for a while, and Tabitha wondered if she had said something wrong. Her parents always did say she had a bad talent of asking the wrong questions at the wrong times. She was about to apologize when Kron spoke up, "I only have two brothers and a sister left. The rest are…gone."_

_The small orange iguanodon stared up at the older male, "Oh…" She really wanted to ask what happened to the rest of his siblings, but she was afraid to upset him more. _

_Then almost as if he had read her mind, Kron explained, "It was my dad." _

"…_huh?" Tabitha was sure she had heard him wrong. After all, why would a father be responsible for the deaths of his own children?_

_Kron pursed his lips before clarifying, "My dad's mean Tabitha, he's __really __mean."_

_Tabitha was in complete shock, "Y-you mean your dad…" She couldn't finish the sentence. It was just to hard to believe. Kron nodded, "My dad believes that only the strong deserve to live. If any of us shows any weakness, he gets rid of us. Sometimes, he's just so rough that he gets carried away and we don't make it."_

"_What about your mommy? Why doesn't she stop your dad?" Tabitha wondered. _

_Kron gave a sarcastic chuckle, "My mom doesn't do anything. She __can't__ do anything. She's not strong enough to take on my dad, but the times she does try to help, she ends up getting hurt too."_

_Tabitha went quiet. She felt really bad for her new friend and was stunned that he was living this kind of life. Her family had always stuck together and her parents were always loving towards her and her siblings. Her father did everything he could to protect his family from enemies outside the herd, not go around killing them himself. _

_She looked back up at Kron when he spoke again, "And not only that, but my parents have been saying that they're going to have another batch of eggs." Tabitha frowned. She may have only been six years old, but even she knew this wasn't a good idea. If anything, this seemed like an excuse for Kron's dad to kill off some more offspring or to brain wash them to follow the 'survival of the fittest' motto. _

"_Do __you__ have any brothers and sisters?" Kron asked. Tabitha shook her head to clear her thoughts and beamed up at Kron, "Yeah I have five brothers and six sisters!" She answered proudly. To her surprise, Kron smiled at her, "You're lucky. You have a lot of siblings." He mused while stopping to lie on his back and let the sun warm his belly. Tabitha did the same. She glanced over at Kron, who was staring up at the clouds. _

"_Kron?" She voiced softly. _

"_Yeah?" He voiced back as he turned his head to look at her._

"_Are we friends now?" She questioned hopefully. _

_Kron thought for a few seconds before nodding, "Yeah, I guess we're friends." _

_Tabitha grinned and moved herself so that she was pressed up next to Kron. The young male tensed slightly before relaxing and allowing the smaller, younger female to lie next to him. _

_And it was for the next few hours that the two youngsters talked about their lives and enjoyed each other's company. _

_Once the sun began to set, a low bellow sounded nearby and Tabitha sat up at the sound. "That's my daddy. It's time for me to get ready for bed." She said sadly. Kron stood up as well, "I better get back to my parents too. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" He asked. Tabitha nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yes, tomorrow for sure!" She turned and ran in the direction she heard her father call her, "Bye Kron!" She called. _

"_Bye Tabitha!" Was the reply back. _

_And so for the next few months, the two iguanodons met up with each other on a daily basis in which the two would either talk or explore the valley. However, it was during one of these visits that Tabitha realized just how cruel Kron's father was. _

_It had started off as a normal day, and Tabitha was waiting at her and Krons usual hangout area. _

_After waiting for quite a while without any sign of Kron, Tabitha decided to go look for him. Standing up from where she was laying, she began to make her way in the direction that Kron went when it was time for him to go to bed. _

_She hadn't gone far when she spotted a small, familiar lavender iguanodon limping in her direction. Tabitha gasped as she recognized the wounded youngster._

"_Kron!" She called out as she ran towards her friend. _

_She skid to a stop and her eyes widened as she looked over his injuries. He was holding his right, front leg, which looked a bit swollen, off the ground. The rest of his body bore scrapes, cuts and bruises. _

"_Did your dad do this?" She whispered. _

_The only response she received was a pained nod. Tabitha gulped. During the months she had lived here, she had seen Kron with several injuries from his father, but nothing this serious. This had to be the worst she had seen him. _

_Kron groaned as he slowly lowered himself to the ground to rest, while Tabitha followed his lead. As he lay panting on the ground, she cautiously moved closer to him and nuzzled his cheek comfortingly. To her astonishment, instead of freezing or pulling away like he usually did, he nuzzled her back. _

"_You're my only friend Tabitha." He whispered. Tabitha gave him a small smile, "And you're my __best__ friend Kron." She whispered back. _

_A few days after this incident, Tabitha received some unfortunate news. Her father had made an announcement that it was time to leave and find a permanent home. _

_Tabitha was horrified at the news and despite her protests, there was nothing she could do, and she had to face the fact that she would be leaving her closest friend. It was with this thought in mind that Tabitha ran to where Kron was waiting, tears brimming her eyes. _

"_Kron!" She sobbed. _

_The young male gave her a sorrowful look, "If it's about you and your family leaving today, I heard." He mumbled. _

_Large tears rolled down Tabitha's face as she buried her face into Krons' neck. "I don't want to leave you Kron! I like you a lot!" She whimpered, "I'm scared I'll never see you again."_

_Kron nuzzled her, "I'm sure we will…I just don't know when." He comforted. _

_The friends were interrupted when Tabitha's parents came into view. _

"_Tabitha, it's time to go!" her father called out. _

_The small, orange dino looked at the lavender one, "Bye Kron, I'll miss you." She sniffled. Kron gave her a sad smile, "I'll miss you too Tabitha. Don't forget me." He whispered as he moved in to give her a good-bye nuzzle, and was caught off guard when Tabitha quickly leaned in and gave him a peck on his cheek. "I won't." She promised._

_The young male looked down at the younger female in surprise. Tabitha gave him a shy smile through her tears before turning and sauntering towards her herd. She looked at him one last time before following her family out of the valley. _

_Kron watched them leave, and once they were out of sight, he let a smile cross his face as his mind replayed the recent memory of the kiss Tabitha had given him. _

"Tabitha?"

Bright blue eyes snapped open at the voice, and Tabitha lifted her head to look up at the dinosaur that had disturbed her. She relaxed when she saw that it was only Neera.

The pink iguanodon shifted uneasily, "I'm sorry if I woke you up, it's just that I wanted to talk to you." She explained sheepishly. Tabitha shook her head, "Don't worry I wasn't asleep. I was just thinking about some stuff." She assured and stood up.

"I'm guessing you just found out about Kron and I, and now you want me to clear up what went on between us." The orange female guessed.

Neera hesitated before nodding. "I figured it would be right since he was my brother and all. I think it would be nice if I knew why you two kept your relationship a secret and why you two decided to have kids so soon after meeting each other."

Tabitha smiled, "You're right. You _do_ deserve to know what went on between us." She settled herself into a sitting position with Neera doing the same. A determined look on her face.

"Now," Tabitha started, "despite what you think, Kron and I actually knew each other when we were little. You weren't around at the time, but I used to live in the Nesting grounds as well. I had arrived with my herd when we were looking for a new place to live. While staying there, I met your brother and we became close friends." She started.

Neera nodded to show that she followed what Tabitha was saying. Seeing this Tabitha continued, "My herd lived with yours for a while, but one day my parents told me that it was time we moved on to continue our search for a permanent home." She paused before continuing, "As you can correctly guess, Kron and I had to say our goodbyes, and I was forced to leave my best friend. After that, I never saw Kron again."

"Until after the fireball incident." Neera finished.

Tabitha nodded, "Yes, it wasn't until then that I found your brother again." She beamed at the memory of when she finally reunited with Kron.

_It was hot, dry, and everywhere she looked she saw burned trees and countless dead bodies of the unfortunate dinosaurs that were unable to escape the fireball. Her herd being part of the casualties. Those that weren't killed were lost when they scattered in their haste to escape. _

_Tabitha was one of said members that was currently lost and was stuck wondering around the charred remains all alone and vulnerable. Without her friends or family, she was an easy target for any hungry predators. Because of this, she tried to keep as quiet as she could so as not to attract any attention to herself. _

_It was during one of these days that she was looking for any other survivors that she finally heard something. It sounded like the bellows of dinosaurs, __herbivorous __dinosaurs…a herd! Feeling a surge of relief, Tabitha quickly made her way towards the sounds and gave a happy sigh. _

_She was right! Not far from her was a huge herd of dinosaurs making their way towards a rocky wasteland. _

'_They must be looking for a new safe home.' Tabitha thought as she watched them move. She didn't have to think twice to make her decision as she made a bee line towards the wondering herd. She honestly didn't care where they were heading as long as she was part of the safety of the group. After all, there was almost always safety in numbers. _

_Running as fast as she could, she made it to the group that looked over at her briefly before continued on without a second glance. _

_Panting, Tabitha fell in with the group and moved along with them to where ever they were going. As she walked, she looked around trying to see if anyone from her own herd was there as well. To her dismay, she found that she didn't recognize anyone, and she began to fear that she had truly lost her entire family. _

_After walking for what seemed like an eternity, the sun began to set, and the herd finally stopped and a loud bellow was heard. Looking around in confusion, Tabitha realized that the other dinosaurs were scrambling for a place to sleep. _

_Never one to feel comfortable sleeping at the edge, Tabitha made her way near the center of the herd and looked for a place to sleep. She was so focused on trying to find a resting place that she wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her, and ended up bumping into someone. _

'_Not again.' She thought and turned her head to apologize to whoever she hit. _

_However, the moment she looked up, she found herself speechless. _

_Staring down at her through steel grey eyes that she would remember anywhere, was none other than Kron. Apparently, he seemed to recognize her as well since he was staring at her with a flabbergasted look as if she was the last person on earth he would run into. To be honest, she didn't blame him if that was true. After all, it had been nineteen, since they had seen each other, and the fireball had killed off so many dinosaurs, that it was by complete luck that they were seeing each other again. _

"_Kron?" She whispered softly. _

_Kron blinked, "Tabitha?"_

_Tabitha nodded and was about to say more, when Kron quietly shushed her and leaned by her ear, "Stay near the edge. I'll come get you later tonight and we'll talk then." He instructed quietly before moving on to check on the rest of the herd. Tabitha watched him with interest. 'I guess he's the leader.' She thought with a smile as she made her way to the edge and settled herself down and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure when Kron would come for her, but she was sure she could get at least a bit of sleep. _

_Sure enough, later on in the night, Tabitha felt something nudge her awake. Glancing up, she saw Kron standing over her. He jerked his head in the 'follow me' motion and walked away from the herd with Tabitha scrambling behind him. _

_Once they were a good distance away, Kron turned to his long lost friend and nuzzled her, to which Tabitha returned the gesture. _

"_Kron I can't believe it's you!" Tabitha breathed as she pressed her face against Krons now thick neck. It amazed her how big and strong he had gotten. _

_Kron chuckled, "It's been a while." He agreed as he pulled away from the smaller, orange female. Tabitha's eyes watered as she gazed up at him, "I really missed you." She sniffled. _

"_I missed you too." Kron soothed while rubbing his muzzle against Tabitha's cheek. Quickly composing herself, Tabitha gave a small smirk in Kron's direction and quirked a brow, "So…you're the leader now, huh?" She mused. Kron nodded, " I was the only…survivor, from my clutch, thus the only one able to take over leadership." _

_Tabitha frowned, "You're father killed the rest of your siblings?" She asked sympathetically. _

"_The rest of my siblings from __my__ clutch. My mother and father bore a second one, and of course my __father__ treated them the same way." Kron's eyes flashed angrily before continuing, "Most perished throughout the years, and those that lived through my father's wrath, perished from the fireball. I only have one remaining sister." He looked back at the gigantic herd and sighed. _

_Tabitha followed his gaze and glanced back at him. "Is your sister that female I saw you with earlier?" She questioned. Kron nodded, "That was her. That's Neera." _

_The two dinosaurs were quiet for a while until Kron spoke up once more, "We should get back to the herd. I like to start the day bright and early." Tabitha was disappointed that their reunion was going to be cut short, but nodded in understanding. If they were going to leave so early, they needed to get some sleep. _

"_Will we be able to for a while tomorrow night?" She wondered hopefully. Kron was silent for a moment before nodding, "I don't see why not." _

_At this news Tabitha perked up and smiled, leading Kron to do the same. Clearing his throat, he motioned for her to follow him, and the two made their way back to the still sleeping herd. _

_Upon arriving, they stopped a bit aways and glanced at each other once more. Tabitha looked up at the bigger, slightly older male and gave a shy smile. Was Kron's smile always that charming? And why was she just noticing how brightly his grey eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight? She was brought out of her musings when Kron spoke in a low voice, "We'll talk more tomorrow." He whispered while Tabitha nodded, _

"_Yes, tomorrow. Good-night Kron." She whispered in reply. What happened next had caught her off guard. Sure she had heard him whisper 'good night' back, but what she didn't count on was Kron swiftly leaning in and giving her a gentle kiss on her cheek. _

_Her eyes widened slightly and she quickly turned her head to stare up at the leader. Kron smirked down at her before turning and returning to the front of the herd where his sister was still sleeping. _

_It was safe to say that Tabitha went back to sleep with a smile across her face. _

_And things went on like this for the next couple of nights, where Kron would wake up Tabitha and the two would walk out of hearing range from the herd, and the two would spent a couple of hours catching on what they missed for the past nineteen years. Though, all of this was done in secret. The last thing Kron wanted was for every herd member staying up past hours, thus the reason why he and Tabitha had to be so careful. If anyone discovered that someone was receiving special treatment or that he was favoring one over the others, there would probably be a mutiny, and with a herd this size, they would be successful. _

_It was during one of these nights that Kron and Tabitha seemed to have run out of things to say, and the two were lying in the dirt, thinking about what else to say. Finally after a few moments of silence, Kron cleared his throat. _

"_So Tabitha…before this whole fireball incident, did you have a mate?" He asked softly. _

_Tabitha blinked at the random question and stared up at Kron. To her amusement, she found him staring down at her with what looked like a hopeful look. "No I didn't. Several males did try to court me during my teen age years, but I turned them all down." She gave Kron a reassuring smile and held back the urge to laugh when a relived look crossed Kron's face. _

"_Did __you__ have a mate?" Kron froze and let out a long sigh. _

"_Not officially, no. But there was this __one_female_ that I really liked back when I was eighteen ." He smiled at the memory. Tabitha stiffened. "Oh?" She tried really hard to keep her tone neutral so that he wouldn't hear the jealousy that threatened to seep through. It must have worked because Kron continued, "I was going to ask her to be my mate but…" He paused and Tabitha gave him a gentle look for him to continue. Kron took a breath, "She was killed by a Carnotaur before I could even ask. Ever since then, I decided not to look for a mate." He shook his head and looked away. _

_Tabitha was silent. She felt like an idiot for allowing her attraction to Kron to grow and develop these past couple of days. She should have known that Kron used to have his eye on another female before reuniting with her, and he obviously still felt the pain of losing this other female in such a horrible way. _

"_Then again," His voice caught her attention, " as cruel as this may sound, if I hadn't lost her then I wouldn't have been able to spend my nights with you, and I wouldn't have been able to tell you how much I love you." _

_Tabitha's head swirled around to meet Kron's eyes and found that they held truth and honesty in what he had just said. "R-really?" She asked hopefully. Kron nodded, _

"_I don't think I loved Naomi the way I love you." He replied in a silky voice as he moved closer to Tabitha. _

_These were the words that Tabitha really needed to hear, and these were the ones that gave her the strength to move close to him and push her head under his chin in a loving gesture. While she felt bad that this 'Naomi' female had her life cut short, she was, in a way, glad that it happened as she now had Kron for herself. _

"_I love you too Kron. I think I actually liked you since we were young, even if you thought you were above hanging out with a 'little kid'." Tabitha whispered as she nuzzled his throat. Kron gave a soft chuckle and Tabitha smiled when she felt the vibrations. _

_After a while, he pulled his head away and rubbed his muzzle along Tabitha's slender neck. The orange females eyes fluttered, and she shivered when Kron gently nipped the lower side of her neck. Kron chuckled again, "Stand up." He ordered softly as he stood up himself. _

_Tabitha didn't need to be told twice, and quickly got to her feet. Her heart was pounding in anticipation as she realized what Kron was preparing to do. Another nip at her neck, and her mind began to cloud over in lust. "Kron…" she breathed. _

_The alpha male smiled and looked down at her, "I need to know that you really want this Tabitha." He whispered seductively. _

_The female nodded her head eagerly. Of course she wanted this! "I want you Kron." She whispered in reply. To prove her point, she raised her tail in invitation. This was all the reassurance Kron needed and he swiftly made his way behind her. After a couple of seconds of physical preparation, Kron reared up onto his hind legs and one of the first things Tabitha felt was Kron's weight on her back._

Neera stared at Tabitha in confusion, "Why did you stop?"

Tabitha rose a brow, "Do you _really_ want me to go into detail of what happened after that?" she teased lightly with a smirk. Neera's eyes widened in shock and she quickly shook her head, "No, no! That's fine, I don't…I don't need to know what you or my brother did during the night." She shivered at the thought of her brother mounted on Tabitha and thrusting- Neera shivered and tried to remove the dreadful image from her mind.

She wasn't shy of the act itself as she and Aladar had already done it, but the image of her older _brother_ doing something like that was very disturbing.

Tabitha giggled at the younger female's expression, "If you want, I can stop the story altogether." She offered, though Neera slowly shook her head, "No continue, but just skip what you did that night. I could live with not knowing what went on for the rest of that night." Tabitha nodded,

"Alright then." She cleared her throat before continuing, "What we did that night went on for another two nights or so."

_Tabitha was feeling a bit…off. She had been feeling this way since the previous day, but had not mentioned it to Kron in fear that she would worry him. However, this day she felt worse, and it wasn't the type of sensation caused by tiredness or lack of food or water or even the sensation of suffering from a heat stroke. It was…something else, something that she had heard her mother and several other older females talk about in her old herd. _

_The orange female struggled to remember what it was, and once she did, she nearly fainted at the revelation. _

_There was only one thing that fit her symptoms' which included her tiredness, sore ankles, and her abnormally increasing appetite. _

_She was __pregnant__!_

_That was the only explanation, especially since she and Kron had mated several times within the last few days. 'I'm pregnant…__I'm pregnant!__' she thought frantically as she pushed herself to continue walking. 'What am I going to do? What will Kron say?!' Her breathing increased at the thought of telling her lover the news. However, her actions seemed to catch the attention of a nearby dinosaur. _

_This one was a grey scaled, female iguanodon with large black spots scattered throughout her body. "Are you okay hun?" She panted as she looked over at the secretly soon to be mother. Tabitha nodded, "Y-yes, I'm fine…just a bit tired is all." She gave a reassuring smile which the grey female didn't seem to buy but nodded anyway,_

"_I hear ya, and believe me, a lot of us feel the same way, no thanks to that leader of ours, as well as his __dear__ little sister and his tubby, brown friend." The grey iguanodon hissed and then relaxed and flashed a kind smile at Tabitha, "I'm Mackenzie by the way." _

"_I'm Tabitha."_

_Mackenzie smiled, "Well Tabitha, just hang in there. I'm sure we'll stop for the night soon." Tabitha gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, but Mackenzie didn't quite notice it and the two females continued to talk for the rest of the walk until finally, Kron brought the herd to a halt and his second in command let out a bellow that announced that it was time to sleep. _

_Mackenzie looked over at the orange female, "So are you gonna look for a spot or what?" She asked while making her way to the center of the herd. Tabitha shook her head, "I like to sleep by the edge." _

_Her new friend tilted her head, "Well, you __are__ a brave one aren't ya? I'm gonna go sleep in the middle and I guess I'll see you in the morning." Tabitha nodded, "I'll see you then." _

_It didn't take long for everyone to fall asleep and for Kron to come nudge Tabitha awake. However, unlike the previous nights where she would meet with him eagerly, this time she was dreading in telling him what she had discovered. _

_How would he take the news? After all, they had only been lovers for the past few days, and before that, they had been best friends when they were children. How would Kron take to finding out that he would be a father after being reunited with a close friend turned lover whom he had been separated from for almost twenty years? _

_As it went, she didn't have much time to muse over these thoughts as Kron was already rubbing his snout along her back in an attempt to seduce her. She almost fell for it, but shook her head and looked back at the lavender male. _

"_Kron wait." She interjected softly while pulling away. _

_Kron gave her a confused look and Tabitha continued, "I have to tell you something." She paused._

"_What is it?" Kron asked worriedly. Tabitha gulped, the look in his eyes hurt her as she realized that he thought she was going to break off their relationship. Seeing no other way around it, she decided that getting straight to the point was the best way to go. "We're going to be parents." She announced softly while looking down. _

"_What?" Kron tilted his head while narrowing his eyes. Did he hear her right?_

_Tabitha licked her lips, "I said we're going to be parents. I-I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant. I've been feeling a little sick these past couple of days and it only started after our first night together." She clarified. Kron was silent and he turned away to stare at the ground. This scared Tabitha and she walked up next to him, "Kron please say something." She pleaded quietly._

_The male glanced over at her, "You're positive that you are?" _

_Tabitha gave a reluctant nod, "Almost positive…I have the symptoms, and you're the only male I've mated with so…" She trailed off. Kron was staring down at her with a thoughtful look. His eyes boring into her blue ones. After several tense moments of silence, Kron finally looked away once more. _

"_You know how I feel about children." He monotone. _

_Tabitha felt her heart race and approached Kron, "I know you don't like kids, but these are __our__ kids." She assured with a nuzzle. Kron took a deep breath before announcing, "Fine, but we __can not__ let anyone know about this. Not until we get to the Nesting Grounds." He observed the sleeping herd, "They're not going to like this, but we're going to have to walk faster starting tomorrow." He mused quietly. Tabitha nodded. The sooner they got to the grounds the better. _

_Kron turned back to her, "We should get to sleep. You're going to need as much rest as you can get." He informed as he led the way back to the herd. Tabitha followed dutifully and silently. _

_The following days seemed to come by as a blur. The evening after Tabitha revealed to Kron that she was pregnant, a sand storm had occurred and as it turned out, the herd gained several new members in which one was a blueish iguanodon and a family of small mammals. _

_She had watched from afar as Kron and the young new member exchanged a few words. She couldn't catch everything they were saying, but she did hear a few words such as 'slow down' to which Kron ignored completely. Tabitha felt bad that Kron was rushing the herd for her, but as he had mentioned the night before, she needed to get to the Nesting Grounds as soon as possible. _

_It was also the first night that Kron didn't wake Tabitha up for their usual nightly visits. And after the arrival of the new male, the herd spent the next several days walking through the desert in which many herd members died from exhaustion, over heating, or from lack of food or water. _

_The harsh migration even seemed to be taking a toll on Kron and Tabitha's relationship as the two seemed to be growing further apart after each passing day. On a bright note, Tabitha noticed that Mackenzie's previous disliking of Bruton seemed to weakening and she noticed the two pass interested glances at each other. Tabitha found this funny as it was only about a week ago that she had seen Mackenzie strike Bruton across the face when he attempted to wake her up. The hit had been accidental, but when she had realized __who__ she had hit, she just shrugged and refused to apologize. Now it seemed as if they were getting along a lot better. _

_However, once arriving at the seemingly dry lake, there was a bit of chaos when everyone tried to drink from the same puddle. Tabitha, Mackenzie and Neera had wisely chosen to stay back until everyone was done. _

_That evening after Bruton returned heavily injured, Kron unexpectedly woke the herd due to nearby carnotaurus. Mackenzie quickly made her way to where Bruton was limping, while Tabitha looked for Kron. She found him just as he was knocking over the odd new male._

"_If you ever do that again…I'll kill you!" Kron hissed dangerously before pulling his sister away from the boy. _

_Tabitha frowned at the act and decided that she would have a word with him about that. She didn't like what she saw. Seeing her lover treat the teenaged dinosaur like that reminded her of Kron's own father. She had only met him a couple of times when her herd lived with Kron's, but it was enough to scar her for life. And for a brief moment, Tabitha feared that Kron would be the same way with their children, though she really hoped he wouldn't. _

_That night they left Bruton behind, much to Mackenzie's displeasure and Tabitha decided that it was time to talk to Kron again. _

_As the rest of the dinosaurs slept, Tabitha quietly snuck up to the front of the herd and nudged the sleeping Kron awake. If the situation hadn't been so serious, Tabitha would have laughed at Kron's surprised face. However, Tabitha motioned her head in the 'follow me' motion, as Kron used to do, and led him away from the herd. _

"_What was that about?" She demanded once they were far enough. Kron furrowed his brows, _

"_What was what about?"_

_Tabitha rolled her eyes, "You threatening that teenager's life. Was that really necessary?" She emphasized. Kron growled, "He was trying to do my job Tabitha, what was I supposed to do? Let him?" _

_The pregnant female sighed, "Well no, but you didn't have to throw him down like that and you didn't have to drag your sister away the way you did." _

"_I don't want her associating with the likes of __him__!" Kron hissed angrily. Tabitha shook her head, "You're changing." She whispered. Kron tensed at her words. "We were so happy when we met up again, but ever since I told you I was pregnant, you changed. You're so cold now." Tears brimmed her eyes as she said this. Kron was silent and looked away, refusing to make eye contact with her. _

"_Is it because you're about to become a father? Are you going to treat our children the same way your own father treated you?" Tabitha sobbed. The thought of Kron killing __any__ of her babies terrified her. _

_Kron snapped his head back at Tabitha, his grey eyes flashing dangerously. "Don't you __ever__ put me in the same category as my father!" He hissed through clenched teeth. He took a calming breath before adding, "We need to get back to the herd." Was all he said before walking away with a distraught Tabitha in tow. _

_Two days after this incident, Tabitha found herself watching Neera and Aladar lead the herd away from a defeated Kron. As the last member of the herd slowly began to follow the younger pair, Tabitha cautiously made her way to Kron. _

"_Kron…please…come with us." She pleaded softly. She flinched when Kron gave her a hard, glare. _

"_You too Tabitha? You're going to follow that…that…oddball?" he demanded, the hurt evident in his voice. Tabitha moved in to give him a comforting nuzzle, only for him to jerk his head away. "Leave me!" he growled. _

_Tabitha frowned, "Fine!" she chocked back and turned to leave. _

Tabitha ended her story and glanced back at Neera, "And I believe we all know what happened next, especially since you were there." She said softly.

Neera nodded. She didn't need to be reminded that her brother was killed by one of those red monsters. That, and she was well aware of the fact that Tabitha would be in no mood to mention the loss of her eggs.

"I can't believe he kept all of this from me." Neera mused instead, "I didn't even know about that other female, Naomi."

Tabitha made a shrugging motion, "He said you were about the same age he was when he met me, but you don't remember her because he was also keeping it a secret as well. But the reason for that was because she was of lower ranking. If you recall, herd leaders and future leaders are frowned upon for mating with anyone who isn't an 'alpha'. "

Neera nodded again. She knew this rule well, and could understand why Kron would keep it a secret. But there was still something Neera wanted to know,

"Do you still love my brother? I mean I know you two had a fight before…er…towards the end of the migration, but did you still have _any_ feelings for him?" Neera wondered. Tabitha gave a small sad smile, "Despite the argument we had, I still loved him, and still do even to this day." She paused as her eyes teared up. "He was my best friend and first and only love you know?" She added. "I just miss him so much." Tabitha sniffed as she tried to blink back the tears that were threatening to spill over.

Neera got up and moved herself closer. She carefully laid herself next to Tabitha and gave what would have been her sister-in-law, a comforting nuzzle. This seemed to bring Tabitha over the edge and she pressed her head against the younger females' neck and finally broke down into a sob.

**A/N: A few more notes about what you just read.**

**I was going to cut this chapter in two, but then I figured it would be boring to read two chapters, one right after another, that contained flashbacks. Plus then the story would seem like it was going nowhere, and I really want to get the story moving along. Kron himself should be making an appearance in chapter 4 or 5. **

**If anyone is wondering why Tabitha would even want to be with Kron, besides the reasons given in this chapter, its because she honestly doesn't find Kron bad looking. Even the animator for the movie mentions in the "Art and making of Dinosaur" art book that Kron is "the biggest, strongest, best-looking guy in the herd" so yeah, that would explain why she would be attracted to him. **

**In regards to dinosaur mating: I know there is no sure knowing of how dinosaurs did it, but after watching a dinosaur documentary, one theory that I myself think is plausible, is that some dinosaurs did it 'doggie style'. (obviously stegosaurs couldn't do it like this, so their ways are a mystery) Since Iguanodons don't have any spikes, just the tiny ridges as seen in the Dinosaur movie, mating like this shouldn't have been a problem for Kron and Tabitha. **

**Also, I know there is no fossilized proof that male dinosaurs had penis's, but once again, after watching the same dino documentary, I found that some scientists believe that male dinosaurs had retractable members that they could push out once they were ready to mate and then pull back in when they were done, much like a reptile or something. (except dinosaurs most likely had one penis instead of two like snakes or lizards). I know dinosaurs are more related to birds, but this could be a real possibility and I and apparently several other scientists follow this theory. **

**I thought I point out 3 and 4 for those wondering why I described Kron 'mounting' Tabitha and 'thrusting'. **

**Anywho, chapter 4 is under works and should be up…hopefully sometime soon! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dinosaur or any of its characters. They belong to the Disney Company and I am by NO means making any money off this. This is purely for the enjoyment of the few Dinosaur fans to read. The only characters I own are Tabitha, Mackenzie, and some more Oc's that will appear later on in the fic.**

It took a while for Tabitha to finally calm down enough so that Neera could get back to her own nest. The pink iguanodon's mind was reeling at all the new information that she had learned that day. Then again, she should have known that something was up once Kron started changing during the migration. At first she thought it was because of the fireball changing the layout of the land, and that could have been partially the reason, but never in a thousand years would she have thought it was because he had a pregnant mate.

'Oh Kron.' She thought with a sigh and shook her head. If he would have told at least _her,_ his own sister, then perhaps they could have worked something out. Perhaps Kron had panicked when Tabitha told him she was expecting, thus him wanting to rush the herd. Had he told Neera, she would have reassured him that everything would be alright, and if it really meant that much to him, she would have keep the secret as well.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear her own mate calling her name repeatedly.

"Neera!"

The pink female jumped slightly and turned to look up at an amused Aladar. "I don't think I've ever seen you so deep in thought." The blue male mused with a slight smirk. Neera gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry, it's just that I found out some really shocking things today." She explained as the two started to make their way back to their eggs.

Aladar quirked a brow, "Really? About what?" he questioned.

"About my brother." Neera replied softly. Aladar's smile dropped. Neera knew this was a bit of a touchy subject for her mate didn't exactly favor Kron or his ways of thinking.

"So…what _did_ you learn about your brother?" He asked casually though Neera knew he was only asking out of politeness and that he really didn't care much for the old leader. None the less, Neera took a breath and replied, "Kron had a secret mate."

Aladar blinked as his mouth dropped open. "_Really_?"

Neera fought the urge to smirk when she heard the curious tone in his voice, and instead, she settled in nodding, "You know that orange and white female, Tabitha?"

Aladar tilted his head in thought, "I don't know her name, but I think I know who you're talking about." He admitted and Neera continued. "Well, _she_ was Kron's lady friend that he spent several nights with during the migration." Aladar shivered.

"I really didn't need to know that." He groaned as disturbing images flashed though his mind. Neera chuckled at her mate's response. Once the young male composed himself, he frowned, "And you're just learning about this _now_? Didn't he tell you?"

Neera shook her head, "Apparently it was a secret that he didn't trust anyone, not even me, with. And that's not all. Tabitha was _pregnant _during the migration."

Aladar's brows rose up, "So you mean the reason why he drove the herd so was because of…"

Neera nodded in confirmation and Aladar shook his head in disbelief. "I can understand him wanting to get his mate here as fast as he could, but to put the rest of the herd in jeopardy like that was…"

"Stupid?" Neera offered.

"That and it was plain reckless!" Aladar added.

"Who's stupid and reckless? You aren't talking about me are you?"

The two dinosaurs turned to see Zini perched on a dear by rock observing the iguanodons with interest. Aladar smiled at his adopted uncle, "No Zini we weren't talking about you. We were talking about…somebody else." He assured while the lemur hopped closer.

"Then who _were_ you guys talking about? Come on don't keep all the juicy gossip to yourselves!" Zini begged eagerly. Aladar shared a look with Neera that silently said, 'it was _your_ brother, _you_ tell him'. Neera winced slightly. Despite Zini being her mates 'uncle', she was still hesitant in letting him in on the news. The last thing she wanted was for the lemur to start spreading gossip and for the whole herd to start spreading rumors about Kron and Tabitha.

Deciding that it would be best not to risk it, Neera shook her head, "We were talking about Kron."

Zini scowled, "Oh…yeah he was a jerk, no offense Neera!" He voiced and then apologized when Neera gave him a small glare. He may have not been the nicest male in the herd, but she still didn't like anyone talking about her brother like that. Sensing a bit of hostility, Aladar swiftly put himself between his uncle and mate.

"Zini, why don't you go see what those other female lemurs are doing since Neera and I have to get back and check on the eggs?" He suggested with a hinting smile. Luckily the yellow lemur got the message and nodded "Good idea, I'll just go and do that. Bye!" He chirped and hopped away.

Once he was out of sight, the two dinos turned back to each other. "So about your brother," Aladar started as they continued walking at a slow, casual pace, "I'm assuming that _he_ was the father of that orange females eggs?"

"Her names Tabitha, and yes, you would be correct." Neera sighed.

"No way! _Kron_ was going to be a dad?!"

Aladar and Neera jumped at the unexpected exclamation and swirled around to; once again, find Zini hiding behind a rock.

"Zini!" Aladar scolded.

"What?! Look I'm sorry it's just that I really wanted to know what you two were talking about!" Zini defended while stumbling around the rock he had been hiding behind. Neera groaned in dismay. She should have just kept her mouth shut about the whole thing. Now this crazy little mammal was probably going to go around spreading rumors and damaging not only Kron's but Tabitha's reputation. She knew it would. Gossip spread like wild fire in her herd. 'Tabitha's going to regret telling me her and Kron's story.' Neera thought with a frustrated sigh.

Seeing his mate distraught, Aladar leaned in towards Zini and whispered, "Zini, this is personal stuff, so you _can't _go around telling everyone you see! Got it?"

Zini nodded, "Alright, I won't tell everyone. Just the ones in our close circle." He gave Aladar a thumbs up to which Aladar shook his head,

"No, you can't tell _anybody_!"

Zini was silent, "What about Yar?"

"No."

"Plio?"

"_No_."

"…Suri?"

Aladar furrowed his brows in frustration, "What part of 'no one' don't you understand?"

Zini crossed his arms, "Oh come on!"

Neera leaned in as well, "Zini, this is serious, the herd _can't _know about this. If they find out, they could give Tabitha a hard time, and she's already been through enough. Understand?" She ordered. Zini gave a reluctant nod, "Alright fine, I won't say anything." Neera gave a satisfied nod, "Good." She confirmed.

With that, she turned and made her way back to her nest once more.

Aladar looked down at his friend and uncle, "Make sure you keep your word Zini." He reminded before following after his mate, leaving Zini alone.

The lemur watched his friends go, though inside he was jumping with anxiety. He knew he had promised not to tell anyone this 'secret to anyone, yet he was still dying to tell at least _one_ person. Surely if he told this 'just one' and made them promise not to tell anyone else, it wouldn't hurt. It was just the fact of having such a juicy secret and not being allowed to tell anyone was driving him crazy! He _had_ to tell someone!

Quickly glancing around, he looked for someone worthy enough to tell. But who? Baylene was a possibility, but she would probably end up confronting Neera about it thus exposing him for breaking his promise. Eema would probably go off and tell as many dinosaurs as she could. Yar would probably get pissed and also confront Neera. Suri…she would probably go off and ask Aladar if it was true, so she was another 'no'. Plio was probably the best way to go. Sure she would go into 'big sister mode' and scold him for telling somebody else's secrets, but she would at least keep her word and not tell everybody else.

Yes that was definitely the person to tell, and with a large grin, Zini quickly made his way to the tree that his family lived in.

As he arrived, he was delighted to see that his sister was alone. She was sleeping, but she was alone, and that was all he needed. As long as no one accidently overheard, he would be able to get away with spreading a tiny bit of gossip.

Scampering up the tree and onto the branch Plio was napping on; he carefully shook his sister awake. Plio mumbled something incoherently as she groggily opened her yellow eyes. "What is it Zini?" She questioned with a yawn before glaring at her brother for waking her up.

Zini grinned in response, "You'll never guess what I just found out!" he chirped happily. Plio gave him an amused look, "Do I really want to know?" she wondered. Zini nodded, "I think you do!"

Plio shifted herself and looked back at the yellow lemur and rolled her eyes, "Alright, what did you want to tell me?"

"You know that orange female that lost all her eggs?" Zini started. Plio nodded,

"Yes?"

"Well, as it turns out, they were _Kron's _eggs!"

Plio's eyes widened, "What? Are you sure? Who told you this?" she interrogated. Zini pointed a finger in the direction of where Aladar and Neera slept, "I overheard Neera tell Aladar not to long ago." He answered. Plio narrowed her eyes, "Do they know you're telling me this?" she asked suspiciously. Zini's ears dropped, "Eh…no…in fact I wasn't supposed to say anything or else it would damage Kron and Tabitha's reputation of something." He said sheepishly.

His sister frowned, "What has dad told you about starting rumors and spreading gossip?"

Zini let out an exasperated sigh, "Come _on_ Plio, I _had_ to tell someone! Just promise not to tell anyone that Kron was Tabitha's baby daddy! Aladar will kill me if he found out!" he pleaded while wrapping his arms around his older sister.

Plio pried his arms off her, "I won't say anything, but it's not _me_ you have to worry about. It's _him_." She pointed behind Zini, who slowly turned and let out a startled squeak.

Standing just below the branch the two lemurs were sitting on was none other than Bruton, who was staring up at the male with a pissed off expression. Zini gulped.

He knew that ever since Kron had left Bruton to die, the brown iguanodon had developed a strong disliking for his ex-leader. Zini and everyone else could see it whenever they mentioned Kron in a conversation, he would tense up slightly and his face would twist into a hateful scowl. So to say that it was bad that Bruton found this out, was putting it in simple terms.

The ex-second in command turned leader, let out a low growl. "I _really_ hope that was just a rumor that you're spreading and not the truth."

Zini gulped. While Aladar and the lemurs had gotten on Bruton's good side, there were still times that the gigantic iguanodon scared the living day lights out of Zini. The lemur gave a nervous chuckle, "Oh well…I don't know _true_ it is, but that's just what I heard from Neera."

Bruton bristled up and Plio decided to intervene, "Please Bruton, there's no need to get worked up. Kron's gone now so there's no sense in making a big deal out of it." She reasoned. Bruton gave a snort, "I'll leave it for now, but I will speak to Neera about this." With that he turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Zini.

'I'm _so_ dead!' he thought frantically as Plio shook her head.

Knowing that there was only one way he could possibly redeem himself and save Neera and possibly Tabitha from Bruton's wrath, was to confess that he broke his promise. Talking a deep breath, he looked over at Plio, "I'm…I'm going to go warn Aladar and Neera." He announced before scaling down the tree and making a break for Aladar's nest.

Plio shook her head after her brother. 'The things he gets himself into.' She thought and settled herself back into a comfortable position and went back to her nap. 'He got himself into this mess, he can get himself out.' She reasoned as darkness overtook her once more.

Meanwhile,

Zini was running as fast as he could to where his adopted nephew and niece were and called out to them.

"Aladar! Neera!" he yelled desperately. The two dinosaurs perked up at the shout and gazed over at the panicked lemur and shared a questioning look. Aladar promptly stood up, "Zini, what's wrong?" he questioned worriedly. Zini finally made it in front of Aladar and hopped up and down in his panic, "Aladar, its Bruton! He knows about Kron and Tabitha!"

By now Neera had stood up as well, "What do you mean? How did he find out?"

Zini's ears dropped down in shame, "Well…uh…he _may_ have overheard me when I…told…Plio." He flinched in anticipation, his hands covering his head, waiting for the explosion in three…two…one…

"ZINI!"

He flinched at the yells from the two, much, _much_ larger than him, dinosaurs, who were both now glaring down at him in anger.

"You promised not to tell anyone!" Neera hissed.

"It was an accident! I didn't know Bruton was in the area!" Zini rubbed the back of his head, "But uh…is it really as bad as we think it is? I mean I doubt he's gonna tell anyone. He really doesn't look the type that would go up to someone to pass around news like that. In fact, I doubt anyone's gonna really care." He reasoned in an attempt to calm everyone, or at least himself, down.

Neera shook her head, "Bruton may not tell everyone, but he's going to be in a bad mood for a while, and I'm afraid that he's going to go harass Tabitha that it was her fault that she made Kron rush the herd and made us loose so many member, and I'm sure he's going to find a way to blame her for making Kron so cruel as to leave his own second in command behind!" By now the pink female was pacing in agitation. Scenarios ran though her mind, one in particular stood out. She could just see Bruton confronting poor Tabitha and putting all the blame on her; the other dinosaurs finding out about her and Kron as well, and harassing her to no end until she would eventually be forced to leave the herd.

There was no way she could let that happen to her brothers lover…even if they did put themselves into this situation. She just couldn't stand by and watch someone get run out of their home like that. Neera figured she owed it to her brother to at least protect Tabitha.

Aladar meanwhile, was watching his distressed mate before frowning at Zini, "You just _had_ to go and tell someone." He shook his head in disappointment. Zini gave a sheepish grin and shrugged.

"I need to go talk to Bruton." Neera announced, startling the two boys.

"Neera…are you sure that's a good idea?" Aladar asked softly. As the new leader, Bruton was fair most of the time, but there were still _other_ times where he could be quite the hot head as he still had his short temper that even Mackenzie couldn't take away.

Neera turned to her mate, "It'll be better for everyone if I spoke to him before he gets to Tabitha and makes a big deal out of this."

"Maybe I should go with you-"

"Aladar, I'll be fine. Just wait here till I get back alright?" She gave him a quick nuzzle and trotted off to find the brown male. She really hoped that Bruton would listen to her and go easy on the orange female.

Luckily, it didn't take long to find him as he was seemingly making his way to where Tabitha lived.

"Bruton!" Neera called as she broke out into a light run.

Having heard his name, Bruton stopped and turned towards Neera. A scowl was etched into his face and Neera nearly backed down, but forced herself to continue forward. "Bruton." She greeted casually and froze. How did she go on about this? Was she just supposed to say 'Hello Bruton! I heard that _you_ heard about my brother that you now hate and his secret mate who just happened to be pregnant and is pretty much the reason why Kron grew colder. Listen, I know you're probably not happy about this, but can you just leave Tabitha alone and forget about all of this?'

She may have known Bruton for years, but she wasn't close enough to him to make such a request. Taking a breath, she finally spoke, "Bruton…I know you herd something about my brother and Tabitha." She started slowly.

Bruton nodded, "I assume you knew about this?"

Neera gulped, "Not at the time. I was just as clueless as you and everyone else. In fact, I also just learned about it today!"

"I find that hard to believe." Bruton grunted with a snort.

"I assure you it's the truth! I know it sounds crazy, but Kron _never_ said anything about his affair to me during the migration." Neera reasoned.

Bruton studied her for a moment before snorting once more and looking away. "I'm still not happy that this was kept from me."

Neera sighed, "It's unfortunate that this was kept from us, but _please_ don't give Tabitha a hard time. She told me her side of the story, and trust me, she's been through enough." She begged. Bruton stared at Neera and growled in frustration. "Fine, I'll leave her be, but only because _you _asked me to, and _only _because I have nothing against you."

"That's _all_ I'm asking for, and thank you Bruton." Neera sighed in relief.

The two iguanodons gave a nod, signaling goodbye and turned to leave. Neera smiled. Crisis adverted…for now, until someone else discovered their secret. But at least for now, everything was going to be fine and dandy.

Later that evening in a distant valley

A large herd of dinosaurs of mixed species were settling down for the night. Loud snores filled the air as various members began to fall asleep.

In one area, a group of iguanodons slumbered together near the center of the valley.

Too anyone else, this was just a regular herd, yet had anyone from the Nesting Grounds cast a glance at them, they would be shocked at just _who_ was peacefully sleeping near the other members.

Slumbering besides the other dinosaurs was a _very_ familiar lavender iguanodon who went by a name belonging to a dinosaur that was thought to be dead.

Sleeping within the herd was…_Kron_.

**A/N: Alright, now all the main iguanodons know about Kron and Tabitha. Obviously Bruton is gonna have hard feelings for Kron since Kron **_**did **_**leave him behind to die. **

**And speaking of Kron, I bet y'all weren't expecting that ending! ;) I'm already working on the next chapter which should be up pretty soon. :) **


End file.
